NHL and Gary Bettman Slammed for Horrible Scheduling Ahead of 16-Game Frozen Frenzy

Tonight's NHL's Frozen Frenzy, which features 16 games involving all 32 NHL teams, is a hockey fan's paradise. However, the timing of it all has left some people baffled.

The only NHL game scheduled for Monday night was a matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs on Amazon Prime. The NHL, which is trailing the WNBA in ratings, decided to put Frozen Frenzy in direct competition with the NBA's opening night, as fans noted on social media.

Since the NHL doesn't directly compete with the NBA for viewers, it's not the best look. Recent announcements by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman that a televised NHL Awards show would be canceled due to lack of interest raise the question of whether the NHL is sometimes its own worst enemy. It's also important to note that the start times for each NHL game tonight will vary.

Although hockey fans will be pleased with the amount of television time the sport will receive tonight, scheduling it for the NBA's opening night does nothing to attract new viewers. The NHL appears to be having a lot of trouble with this, and it needs to get its act together before the ratings continue to decline. More must be done if the NHL hopes hockey will endure and flourish in places like Utah, Florida, and Nevada.